Do you want to impress your teacher? Maybe you just want to get the most out of your school year. Whatever your reason for wanting to be the best student in your class, there are a couple of different ways you're going to want to improve yourself. Being the best student in any class great is about more than just making the grade; it's also being a good person and showing your teacher that you take their class seriously.

Steps

Method1

Getting the Most out of Learning

1

Get your brain and body ready to learn. You will learn best and have the easiest time in school if your body is ready to learn! There are lots of things that you can do to get your body ready. Try:

Get lots of sleep. You’ll need to get the right amount of sleep for your body if you want your brain to work at its best. You should feel alert through most of the day. If you find yourself needing to shut your eyes by lunch, you’re not sleeping enough. For most people, you’ll need about 8 hours of sleep.

Your body can’t work right if all you eat is junk like chips, candy, and hamburgers. If you want to be the best student you can be, eat your vegetables (like broccoli), some fruit, and lean proteins (like chicken and fish).

Drink plenty of water. Your brain needs water in order to work right. In fact, your whole body needs water in order to work right. Drink several glasses of water a day but keep in mind that some people need more water than others.

2

Learn in a way that works for you. Everyone learns best in different ways; this is called a learning style.[1] Find a way that works for you and try to learn that way as much as you can. You’ll have more control over this when you study at home, but you can also talk to your teacher about adjusting how the lessons are taught to include more variety for different style learners.

For example, have you noticed that it’s really easy for you to remember charts or pictures? This means you might be a visual learner, which means you should use more images and pictures in order to learn. An example of this would be if you drew yourself a chart to memorize the parts of speech.

Maybe you've noticed that you have an easier time studying when you listen to music quietly or that you can't remember what your teacher wrote on the board but you can "hear" what they said in your head as if they were in the room now. This means you might be an auditory learner, which means you learn better with sound. An example of this would be if you record your teacher when they're talking so that you can listen to it while you do your homework or study.

Maybe you've noticed that, during a lesson, you feel like you still want to pay attention but you really need to stand up or move around. Maybe you pace around your room while you study. This might mean that you are a kinesthetic learner, which means you learn better when you're doing things with your body. Try playing with a piece of clay in your hand while your teacher talks.

3

Pay attention. The best thing that you can do to become the best student in any class is pay attention when your teacher is talking. If you get distracted you might miss important information and you'll have a harder time understanding what to do or when you have to study later.

If you're having trouble staying focused when your teacher is talking, try sitting in the front and participating more in the class. Raise your hand and ask questions when you don't understand something or when your teacher says something interesting and you want to know more about it.

4

Learn how to take notes. Taking notes (and taking notes well) can be tricky, but it will make it much easier for you to learn and study, which means your grades will get better and your test scores will improve so you're the best student in your class. Just remember, you don't have to write down everything your teacher says. Just write down the most important things and the things you know you'll have a hard time remembering.

5

Do your homework on time and well. Even if you don't get very good grades on your homework, just doing it on time will help keep your grade up as much as possible. You should aim to make your homework marks the highest in the class or you're not really trying to be the best in your class. Beyond that, do as well on your homework as you can. When you don't understand it, ask someone for help! Your teacher might be able to set you up with a tutor or even help you themselves.

Schedule enough time to actually get your homework done. This might mean watching less TV or spending less time with your friends but it will be worth it in the end.

Getting a good environment to do homework will really help you to get it done. Go somewhere quiet where you don't have any distractions. If you can go to a library, that's a good spot. If you can't leave your house and the people you live with are noisy, try your bathroom.

6

Look for extra ways to learn. Learning stuff that isn't included in your classes can help you understand the information you do cover a lot better and it can also really impress your teacher. Pursuing information in a way that follows your interests can also help you stay focused in class. Look for more ways to learn about all of the subjects you study and you'll find that all of school is more interesting and that you're more and more successful.

For example, if you're studying American history, you can watch documentaries online to learn even more about the era you're learning about.

You can learn by studying books from your local library and you can also learn a lot online. While Wikipedia isn't always accurate, it's usually pretty good. You can also find documentaries and educational videos on YouTube, like the popular shows Crash Course and TedTalks. These have a lot information that your teacher or professor didn't explain it well enough for you.

Learn when school is out of session too. Keep learning during the summer, on the weekends, and start preparing for your next year of school as early as you can by finding out what kind of stuff you'll study. As for the summers, just reviewing the information you already learned for just two or three hours three or four times over the course of the whole summer can help make sure that you're ready when the school year starts.

7

Study earlier. One of the most effective ways to get better scores on tests is to start studying and preparing for the test as early as possible. Definitely don't leave it until the night before. The harder the test will be, the earlier you should start studying. Two or three weeks is usually a good starting point.

Method2

Being a Good Person

1

Make people feel good, not bad. Being the best student in a class is about more than just getting good grades. You should also work on being a good person. You don't want to be a bully or a class clown; that will not make you the best student in the class. Focus on making people feel good by giving them compliments and telling them when they do a good job. Don't be mean to people and tease them or say hurtful things.

2

Be helpful to everyone. Be a good person by helping people when you can. If you know how to do something or you have an easier way of doing it, show them how. Don't make yourself seem smarter or better, just be nice and friendly. You can also do small nice things, like holding a door open for them or helping them carry something heavy.

For example, if someone was gone for a few days, offer to help them get caught up and share your notes with them.

3

Be respectful to people, even when they're being mean. Even when people are mean to you, you should still be respectful. Don't shout at them or physically hurt them. Don't call them names or cut in front of them in line, just to spite them. Simply ignore them and treat them like you would treat anyone else.

Be respectful to people by not talking over them and definitely giving them a chance to talk if they want to. Respect their opinions and don't worry if they think a little bit differently than you. You should also let people be themselves and don't make them feel bad for being unique or different.

4

Stay calm. When you're in class, stay as calm as you can. Don't run around and disrupt people. You should also try not to get stressed when school gets tough. This is bad for you and it might also cause you to lash out at other people.

Help yourself calm down by breathing slowly. Remind yourself that everything will be okay. You're strong enough to do this!

Avoid worrying about perfect grades. Perfect grades really only matter your last year and a half of high school and then when you're in college (if you plan on going to graduate school later). Otherwise, just focus on learning the material as well as you can and don't worry about the numbers or letters that your teacher assigns. Knowing the material is more important than getting a grade.

5

Make things fun for everyone. Try to help everyone have fun. Be enthusiastic and positive when you're in class. This excitement to learn will make everyone feel more okay about learning. It might even get some people to show excitement when they wouldn't normally let other people see that they care.

For example, you might start learning about the planets in your science class. Find a cool picture of your favorite planet and show it to other people, then challenge them to find a cool picture of their favorite planet.

6

Be yourself! Most importantly, be yourself. You can't be the best person you can possibly be if you're pretending to be someone else. Do the things that make you happy. Share the things that you love. Be friends with the people that get you and make you feel good about yourself. Don't worry about what other people think. The truth is that years from now, you won't even remember half of their names. If they don't think you're the coolest person now, you're not going to care in five or six years. What you will care about is how unhappy you are that you didn't do things that made you happy.

Method3

Making Your Teacher Happy

1

Be respectful. If you want to make your teacher happy, being respectful is really the best way to start. Especially if other students are disrespectful, you'll stand out and quickly become their favorite. You can do things like:

Don't be disruptive. Don't pass notes, talk to your friends, make jokes, or move around too much while your teacher is talking.

Be punctual (on time or even early) and definitely don't skip their class.

When you're talking to them, be polite. Address them as Ma'am or Sir and use words like please and thank you. Be serious when you use the words and don't let them feel like you're making fun of them by talking like this.

2

Ask questions. Teachers like it when students ask questions. There are a few reasons for this. First of all, it tells them that you're paying attention. Second, it shows them that you think they're interesting and that you're enjoying the subject (even if you're not). Third, it makes them feel smart and helpful. Everyone likes to feel smart and helpful. Ask questions when you have them and you'll find your teacher liking you more and more.

For example, if your teacher is talking about chemistry and Avogadro's number, ask them how they memorize the number.

As a warning, however, try not to ask pointless questions. You don't want to ask a question just so you have a question to ask. Eventually, this will annoy your teacher and they'll think that you're doing it just for the attention.

Do not ask personal questions or something that is important only to you. You can ask about homework, pop quiz dates or something that does not bother you alone or if you don't understand. "What pages do we have to read for tomorrow?" and "Ma'am, is there a better method to memorize this?" will be appropriate. "Why did I get a D?" and " Ma'am, which boy band is the hottest according to you?" are definite nos. "Ma'am, do you have a boyfriend?" type of questions which are related to personal relationships of teachers are not to be asked at any cost. Teachers get ticked due to this and can get you suspended.

3

Ask for help. You might think that asking your teacher for help will make them mad because it makes you look stupid. This couldn't be further from the truth. Asking for help actually makes you look smart and it will make your teacher happy. When you ask questions, your teacher knows that you'll work hard and understand what they're teaching much better. They'll be proud of you for taking the initiative to get the help you know you need.

For example, if there's a math test coming up in a few weeks, and you know that you didn't fully understand how to divide fractions, then ask your teacher if they can go over the instructions with you one more time and do two or three problems with you until you understand it.

Say something like, "Mr. Green, I'm having a hard time with the homework. For some reason, the genitive case is just really hard for me to get. Can we maybe meet after school or during lunch, so you can try explaining it in a different way?"

4

Be a helpful student. Be a student that not only keeps out of trouble, but also makes the classroom a kinder place. This is about more than just starting fights and arguments (although you shouldn't do those things either). This is also about being a person that helps solves problems when they come up. For instance:

You remind others (without being bossy or rude) to keep to classroom rules.

If a fight breaks out, you immediately get the nearest teacher, or diffuse the fight, or whatever is appropriate to the situation.

You help the teacher with tasks such as handing out papers, materials, making copies, helping a student with a question, or whatever is appropriate.

You help classmates who are having problems. If a peer is clearly upset, you try to help him. You open the door for a teacher wheeling the AV cart. You do not pass on ugly rumors, even if it is juicy gossip.

5

Stay on top of your work. Do your homework on time. Get study guides and ask for help at least two weeks before a test, and not two or three days before. Take notes. When your teacher sees you working hard, even if you're not the smartest and even if you don't get the best test scores, they'll still like you best.

Community Q&A

Search

I feel shy asking questions, so what can I do?

wikiHow Contributor

Try not to pay attention to what other people think of you. Understand that asking questions is a good thing, it helps you to better understand something crucial in class. Your teacher will like it that you are asking questions. If you are shy about asking questions, meet with your teacher privately after class or ask a friend. Teachers also love it when you ask for different ways to solve a problem.

Don't compare yourself to others. Everyone has different abilities. You are your own unique person, you may be really good at something else that few others can do. If you're talking about within a particular class, maybe approach someone you are friendly with about tutoring you.

It's okay. Just slowly push yourself in class and make sure that you are comfortable doing it. Don't push yourself too much -- that would be a bad thing. You are putting yourself in an uncomfortable position. Every day in class just raise your hand once and then build up from that.

What if you try all this and you're still not the best one of the class?

wikiHow Contributor

Then accept that there is more to life ahead you than being best in class. If it is bothering you too much, sit down in one corner of your room and review whatever you did for becoming the best student. Did you go too far and simply let being the best take over your life? Scale back a bit, and settle down on the reputation that is the best in class but comfortable for you, too. Did you not reach the perfect level and stayed on average? Work harder, try again. Your goals are worth a few more shots. Take a deep breath and remember that you are strong enough to do this.

No, you're not doing them a favor and you're not doing yourself one either. Do not help someone cheat. Cheating is against the rules and can get you into trouble. You might think it's nice of you because they could get a higher grade, but it isn't their grade. It isn't what they learned, and it will do the opposite of helping.

Form a study session with your peers. This helps you and the other people you are studying with. Try to take some time out of your life, which may include you having to skip times with friends or that new video game that you just got, to study more and more. Have a goal in mind, including an immediate reward for higher scores and a longer-term goal of a career or start-up that you'd like to pursue.

Tips

Don't be shy. When teachers ask you a question use the opportunity and answer confidently even if you are not sure if it`s the right answer. The teacher will notice your self-confidence and thus you will get closer to being one of the top students.

Keep your cool during exams. Being nervous can make you forget the lessons you had revised. Take rest, have a healthy breakfast before attending any test.

Even if you don't know an answer in the test, try to answer it by remembering as much as you can of what you studied. Even look at the other questions in the test, sometimes one question answers another!

Stay organized. Organize your homework in folders or binders. This makes for easy retrieval and easy to remember where you put it when you need to work on it.

When you get home, read over the work you did in class. This will help you to better understand what you did in class, and to review important details.

If possible, go over the lessons the night before class. This will allow you to focus on details during class and it will also give you more things to contribute.

Every time you come home from school study a little bit, so when comes the exam you don't have to stay up all night revising.

Try to revise the main points learned in class immediately after the class. It will help the most in remembering it for a long time.

Remember that there's nothing wrong with some friendly competition. If there are other students in your class who are also striving for a top spot, feed off their motivation. Be careful not to confuse competition with rudeness, though.

After achieving what you want — for example the highest score on one of your exams — don't forget to reward yourself for the effort that you exerted in preparation for your exam.

Stay focused and ignore the people who make fun of you. You should not be ashamed of wanting to do well in school.

Be sincere. If you are really sincere, then it will reflect in your report card. Carry this attitude with you throughout your study career and forward. You will definitely emerge as a winner.

Don't try to show off in front of your friends to make them laugh because you are just putting yourself down and interrupting the people who are trying to learn.

When studying, rewrite notes then read over them morning of the exam multiple times until it's stuck.

Don't keep ideas to yourself, share them with others.

Don't forget to get at least eight hours of sleep every night, best if you can get nine hours of sleep. Good rest makes a big difference in your school.

Never argue with your teacher. This leaves bad impressions - not only on the teacher, but on your classmates too.

Do not waste your time, read books.

Make sure you understand the teacher's question.

If you ever feel stressed out of being the best, take deep breaths and drink some water. It's not the end of the world if you're not the best in class.

If you feel too shy to ask in front of the class, then remember to be fearless. You can always ask after class or during recess. Teachers are always ready to help you.

Don't focus on what you fear, focus on where you want to go.

When you get home, it is best for you to copy down your notes again. Just to make sure you remember it and if you lose the original you have another!

Try to understand things. Be attentive in the class. Once you understand what is been taught it will be easy for you in exams.

Warnings

There is a fine line between being a genuinely helpful student, and one that is an over-enthusiastic "goody two-shoes" that is overly dependent on the teacher's praise and attention. Be sure to let others also help the teacher.

Don't overwhelm yourself with work. Life is not just about school work! Remember that you are human too.

If you cheat, there is a good chance that you will get caught and if a teacher sees you are cheating, will change his/her mind about you.

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 980,163 times.

Did this article help you?

Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy.

86% of readers found this article helpful.

1,822 votes - 86%

Click a star to add your vote

86% of people told us that this article helped them.

Co-authors: 175

Updated:

Views: 980,163

May 26

"I was very sad that I was not able to keep on top of my class, and no one wanted to be friends with me. After I read this article, I started to follow it. It took me a while, but the result was fascinating. Thanks, wikiHow!"..." more

AA

Angela Aro

Jun 8, 2016

"Until last year, I was the best student of my class. But now, a new student came, and teachers are impressed with her. I do feel jealous, and my aim is to overtake her. This article provided me with a lot of tips to be the best student. I'm sure I'll follow it and be the best student in my class. Thanks to the whole team at wikiHow."..." more

AS

Ali Samra

Mar 13

"Thank you so much! Your article was full of helpful advice and it really made me feel hopeful. Lately, I've been so disappointed because of my grades! I know I'm not too bad, but I just expect more of myself. I will try to improve more by using your helpful methods! Thank you again."..." more

SS

Samantha Sanders

Jun 24

"I've always wanted to be a great student, but never knew how. This article helped me realize that to be a good student, you need to do more than just pay attention. You need to drink water, and get enough sleep. Thank you to whoever made this article, it pretty much changed my life."..." more

DT

Danak Tirdan

Mar 20, 2016

"Thank you so much! Your article was full of helpful advice and it really made me feel hopeful. Lately, I've been so disappointed because of my grades! I know I'm not too bad, but I just expect more of myself. I will try to improve more by using your helpful methods! Thank you again."..." more

KD

K. D.

Aug 10, 2016

"All points are very useful, it helps me a lot to improve myself. Thank you for this article. I also want to say that please make your own notes, don't follow a senior's notes. You can take just idea from those notes. Do your work in the proper time period."..." more

A

Anonymous

May 8

"The steps helped me the most in this article. They were not only important to know, but also elaborated. The warnings helped a lot, since they are the things which a student completely forgets when trying to prove himself the best. wikiHow rocks."..." more

A

Anonymous

Aug 21, 2016

"I am a good student and I can study well, but sometimes I study so much it makes me tired and I can't study well for same days. Or when I am not in the mood, I feel like not studying, even though I have to. How would I save my mood? :) Thanks!"..." more

NC

Nick Christensen

May 2

"What really helped me was the tip about being shy. I am very shy and I never raise my hand, even though I have a question that could be crucial for the test. This tip helped me so much and I got a 100% on my math test! Thank you so much!"..." more

RR

Roxie Rebel

May 5, 2016

"Very helpful article. I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling in school. Also, you must believe in yourself. Don't forget to give your teachers presents. They will like you so much more if you give them big or little gifts."..." more

FS

Foxi Skipper

Apr 8

"I go to a small private school, so I have high standards. But not just in school; my dad and I have been having many arguments recently, and I have been trying to find ways to do better in class in order to make him proud of me. "..." more

Rated this article:

AE

Alassa Estelwyn

Jan 7

"Thanks for this helpful article! I'm a freshman in high school, and today we found out class ranks for the first time. I was a bit disappointed, being 38 out of 625, so I will definitely use these tips to bring up my GPA!"..." more

AA

Amjad Aziz

Oct 3

"The best thing was to not to stress too much and how to manage the work. It can keep the teacher happy, and if I get mot out of learning it will make me and the teacher extremely happy. Thanks more than a thousand times!"..." more

Siddharth Vyleri

Aug 4

"This article was of immense help to me, and one can even be encouraged to study if he finds a comfortable place to study and do his homework. No one would like to study in a uncomfortable place. "..." more

AR

Angelina Rampersaud

Nov 15

"I have lots of competition in my class and lots of the girls are jealous of me. Using this, I can try harder so that they can probably follow my steps and be the best students, too! :)"..." more

Rated this article:

GG

Ghazal Golpaee

Jul 19

"I am student and I always have problems with studying and the school. When I read this article, I was really motivated to learn more, and your website was really really helpful to me."..." more

Rated this article:

SD

Subathira Devi

Sep 16

"This app is really very helpful, let me be honest, I never used to study good, once I started using this app, it showed me the correct way to go and now I'm one of the top 5 in class. "..." more

Rated this article:

Daniella Zaharia

Aug 15

"I don't know if it will help me because I have not done it yet, but I think it will help me a lot. I am very good at school, I just want a change and an improvement for me and others."..." more

Rated this article:

MS

Mulaudzi Dakalo Success

Apr 25

"It helped me on how to become a better student in class, and that I should ask questions when not understanding and that I should pay special attention when the teacher is teaching. "..." more

Jonathan Fosu

Jul 3

"This has really helped me in so many ways. It has made me a different person when I started following whatever I read here. I have been able to learn new things in life. Thank you."..." more

LS

Lina Sendaya

Jul 13

"This helped me by knowing how to have fun in middle school. Now I'll know how to be the best student in my class! My worries are now over, I'm sure I'll ace middle school now!"..." more

Rated this article:

A

Anonymous

Apr 22

"Since I was always a good student, this article helped me stay on top of work and having appropriate timed study sessions. Thank you, wikiHow, for all your helpful articles!"..." more

DS

Diya Suzan Manoj

Nov 14

"This was actually really motivating. I hope that this works if I use these methods in my life. Thank you for coming up with these types of helpful tips for students like me."..." more

Rated this article:

MA

Maria Ann Johnson

May 11, 2016

"Really helped me with all my problems in class. It also helped me get better grades and understand that studying is not just for good grades, it's for enriching knowledge."..." more

DK

Del Rosa Khlo

Oct 6

"It helped me understand better the purpose of studies, never to be discouraged whenever I face an academic problem, and that working hard is of great use in future."..." more

VR

Vineela Raji

Jun 8

"Thanks for the material. It is really so helpful and inspiring for a student. I want wikiHow to continue the same and help as many as people and students it can. "..." more

Rated this article:

JG

Jordan G.

May 31

"I think its true that you shouldn't focus on the negatives and other people, just focus and keep your grades where they should be instead of tearing others down."..." more

CE

Christal Evans

Feb 6

"This year is tough but I am not going to be turned down by it, so I looked up ways I can change that and I am pretty sure this is the best website for that!"..." more

LY

Liv Yula

Jul 4

"It was very helpful because I've always tried to be good at school. This really helps to motivate and just understand a bit more what I already have to do."..." more

Rated this article:

SC

Sally C.

Dec 21, 2016

"This article helped me by not being so shy and to not think and get distracted by others, just do what makes me feel good about getting good grades."..." more